Ya’ll Ain’t Ready

I get the same question all the time- how are you losing so much weight? I have people stop me in the halls and people have sent me messages asking me- I guess the weight loss is finally showing but the answer to “how” can be both a short and long answer.

Hence….the main reason for SharkysWorld.com (along with everything else that I’m into).

SHORT

I use a custom form of “lazy keto” that I call Sharketo because I’m constantly adapting it to fit where I am based on what is and isn’t working, along with exercise.

LONG

I started with the base “lazy keto” and tried different things and weighed daily and found what works and doesn’t work for me. I research by reading, watching videos or listening to podcasts almost daily and I research what I’m actually told and then put certain things into motion for about a week to see how it makes me feel. I check every label of things I pick up, the wife and I try different recipes to see if we like them or if they cause a weight gain. I’m constantly trying to find new things to do such as playing video games, exercising or sorting trading cards in order to keep me from just setting around- watching TV and snacking.

I put in work every single day because it’s an ever changing process that flows with you as you lose/gain weight. I try new products that come out and try to find acceptable replacements for foods that I “can’t live without.”

I am constantly watching for cravings and then tring to figure out the situation I’m in and what is causing it so I can either keep them from happening or just be able to handle them better. I no longer let a weight gain throw me completely off track because I’m learning how my body works so I sort of know what to expect. I think about what I’m doing by the minute- from making myself drink enough water to making sure I get to walk on my breaks to forcing myself to exercise- even if I don’t feel like it. I’m trying to focus on getting more sleep and finding things to look forward to like future 5Ks.

I’m focusing on making my life the happiest I can and maintaining my motivation and excitement and not allowing the false belief that I need all of that bad food to be happy.

I’m trying to work out new things to reward myself with instead of food and trying to prove to myself that I’m never actually “hungry”…I don’t know what “hungry” feels like and that I don’t have to have snacks or lunch plans when we go out on trips- not eating is acceptable.

There are so many people who want to do this and when I say…”oh, it’s keto and exercise”- it seems so easy and when I say I’ve lost 120 lbs in 8 months people just assume that it fell off and it will for them too and I think I’m doing them an injustice by not speaking up….which is why I love posting blog updates.

This is HARD. It’s a constant thing that you have to focus on and put in the effort. You have to either go without giving in to your cravings or find suitable replacements which can be very frustrating. You have to focus on learning who you are and how your environment triggers you to certain types of foods. I have to be willing to put in the work with exercise- from walking to weights or whatever works for you but you will have to sweat- period. Lots of people will tell you that exercise isn’t required but I’m not one of those people. If you lose weight without exercising- great for you…but that’s not me and I truly believe exercise is a huge part of “getting healthy”….this isn’t just about a lower number on the scale.

Please don’t think that this is easy or has been easy- I have fought myself the entire way and it’s a daily battle that will never end and I don’t win them all…I promise you that. The mental battles drain me.

I’ve tried this so many times only to fail and regain the weight and there are several reason to that- from forcing myself to do stuff I don’t like to only focusing on trying to exercise myself to death to allowing stress and disappointment to just kill the entire journey. If I didn’t hit a goal, I quickly just gave up because I felt like I was trying to prove something to someone or that it was a race…but it’s not.

Now- if I don’t hit a goal, I just re-adjust future goals and keep trucking. Not hitting a specific goal by a specific date isn’t a big deal anymore and I don’t feel like I’ve failed if I don’t.

There is NO success or failure in this and it’s taken me 40 years to learn that….even when I reach my goal weight…I haven’t really succeeded- I just won more battles than I lost…the fighting doesn’t stop until you are dead.

I completely understand that I can hit 220 lbs and then be back to 440 lbs within a year…or less. This is going to be a lifetime of ups and downs- it’s a battle with no end and if you aren’t ready to put in the work to fight then you are going to lose battle after battle.

It sucks that it took me 40 years to learn all this and to finally be ready to fight it every single day, for the rest of my life but I’m doing just that and while it’s a battle…those battles are getting easier because I have more and more weapons to use.

So…when I tell someone what I’m doing….I usually tell myself (in my head)….”ya’ll ain’t ready”- not because I don’t have faith they can do it but because you can clearly tell who is ready to sign up for war and who is already planning on dodging the draft.